So you want to be an interior designer…Do you have the skills, the taste, the design style needed? The world of interior design is growing exponentially. With homeowners interested more than ever in mimicking the interiors they see on HGTV and other such channels, they are increasingly enlisting the services of skilled interior design professionals.

There are quite a few free online courses and websites that can help refine your taste, sharpen your skillset and launch your journey into the fun and fashionable realm of interior designer. The following offer great starting points to begin your new career when it comes to all things home design:

Find that Perfect Color Scheme with DecoratingStudio

While perhaps not the most elaborate or intricate course available, this is really a great place to start! DecoratingStudio offers a basic overview of what it takes to create that ideal interior ambiance and feel that a client may be after. From furniture selection, to implementing an amazing a color scheme, the course offers down-to-earth guidance geared to get you started in the field. A great feature here is that following each section you get a refresher and review so that the lesson stays fresh and relevant as you move on to something a bit more involved.

YouTube Based Sketch Course

While computers have certainly taken over the planet, there is still some room for the timeless art of hand sketching. And when you’re studying to become an interior designer, this skill can be particularly important, especially when trying to convey ideas or concepts to an anxious client.

This series of videos will show you how to create a room, how to embellish a space and how to free-handedly convey the stuff of your interior design imagination so that your clients can fall in love with it!

The forerunner of interior design, Better Homes & Gardens offers tips and tricks that any design professional could use. The guides found here can certainly help enhance your design perspective. Pay attention, take notes and study.

The site offers how-tos, videos and tutorials that anyone, novice or professional can certainly benefit from!

If you haven’t yet heard of Houzz then it’s definitely time to get with the program. 30 million members strong, this site is an incredible collection of rooms, furniture images, exterior facades as well as inspired blogs posts and insider tours.

Some of the country’s premiere designers and architects post to Houzz sharing their most treasured projects. You want to learn how to make it in the interior design business, just look to the folks on Houzz.

The Pinterest of Design: DesignTripper

A collection of beautiful homes, gorgeously appointed rooms and décor ideas to die for, DesignTripper is absolute eye candy when it comes to the world of interiors.

If you’re looking for fresh ideas and exhilarating home styles, this is the place! There is also a blog which gives users in-depth perspectives into some of the world’s most amazing houses. Here is where you come for that much-needed inspiration.

The undisputed king of all things design related, HGTV ‘s website offers a plethora of information. From how-to guides, to show clips, to a section where users can share their own design adventures, this platform has it all—especially if you are an aspiring interior designer.

They also feature a great “design 101” section which, as its name suggests, might just be the perfect intro for your burgeoning new career. This is definitely one worth checking out.

We’re not saying that the interior design industry isn’t competitive, in fact, it can get to be pretty cutthroat depending on where you work and what type of clientele you cater to. You always want to stay in touch as much as possible with online resources that plug you into today’s trends. The more informed you are, the better, and these free online sites, videos and courses are certainly meant to help bring out the interior designer in all of us!

On any given day, balancing life and work can certainly turn into an overwhelming task. My goal is to take some of the stress off of you. Whether it’s redesigning a company website, preparing materials for a job search, or editing an important document, I treat each and every project as if it were my own.
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